Katie Porter Threatens To Walk Out Of Tv Interview

SACRAMENTO, California — Katie Porter threatened to walk out of an interview with a local CBS News affiliate after the reporter asked several follow-up questions about whether her support for Democrats' congressional redistricting measure would alienate Republican voters.

The on-camera sitdown with Porter, a frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, grew confrontational after the reporter, Julie Watts, asked: “What do you say to the 40 percent of California voters — who you'll need in order to win — who voted for Trump?”

Porter scoffed at the premise. “How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” she said, turning to someone apparently off camera and laughing.

Later in the three-minute exchange released Monday, the former House member landed on an answer that sounded more like a candidate’s than a strategist’s, arguing her history winning in purple Orange County positioned her to persuade conservative voters. She also explained the obvious, that she would not need to pick up Republican votes in a run-off election against a GOP opponent in blue California.

But what if a second Democrat emerged from the top-two primary? Watts asked.

“I don’t intend for that to be the case,” Porter said.

After more follow-up questions, Porter grew visibly frustrated. She said the interview was getting "unnecessarily argumentative,” before appearing to reach for her mic: “I don’t want to keep doing this. … Not like this, I'm not. Not with seven follow ups to every single question you ask.”

“I don't want to have an unhappy experience with you, and I don't want this all on camera,” Porter said, shortly before the clip was cut.

Porter’s camp noted that she ultimately didn’t walk out, which CBS confirmed. “The interview moved on and continued for another 20 minutes,” a spokesperson for her campaign said in a statement.

That didn’t stop a pile on from her competitors and detractors as the clip circulated on social media Tuesday.

“We need a governor who will work to solve hard problems and who is not afraid to answer simple questions,” a spokesperson for Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democratic candidate for governor and former Los Angeles mayor, said in a statement.

“No candidate for Governor should hide from the press or mistreat them — we owe it to the public to be transparent,” said another candidate, state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond.

Porter’s comments on Republican voters also gave her GOP opponents a chance to tee off. “As governor, I’ll serve every citizen of this state, whether they voted for the President or not, whether they vote for me or not,” said Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host.

Porter’s opponents seemed to have happier (or at least calmer) experiences in their own sitdowns with the station.

“I need every vote. I’m not interested in excluding any vote,” former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said when asked if he would need Trump voters.

Villaraigosa, in his interview, conceded that some Democrats and Republicans would inevitably be alienated by his moderate campaign, but he argued some will “want a leader who’s a uniter.”

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